I gripped the windowsill, rocking slightly as clenching need overtook me—an aching desire that could only be sated one way.
A wolf appeared from the tree line on the left, his dark eyes on Austin. That’s when I realized the wind was in his favor, because Austin hadn’t noticed him at first. The wolf shifted his gaze, staring at the cabin and giving me goose bumps. My scent was lingering in the air outside; the humidity must have made it into a heavy perfume that no Shifter could ignore.
Austin’s wolf snapped his head around and stalked toward the brown wolf, lips peeled back and fangs as sharp as daggers.
I stood breathless, scanning the woods in search of others. So far, it was just the one.
***
When Austin heard the distinct growl from another wolf, he immediately shifted. Lexi reluctantly opened the door, and he rushed down the steps, eyeing the woods to his right. Axel had advised him against shifting, but a Packmaster had the right to protect his mate. Lexi was going into heat, and those special circumstances made this situation dangerous.
Austin lifted his nose, pulling in the heavy smell of wet snow. A lingering trace of Lexi’s scent mingled with the earthy undertones of the forest. When the wind changed direction, the most prominent scent in the air was wafting from behind him. Austin turned and faced a brown wolf standing a few feet away from him. Austin sensed he wasn’t an alpha, but he couldn’t be sure if the Shifter was a local rogue, a pack member who’d wandered out of his territory, or one of the Northerners.
Austin’s paw pads were thick and indifferent to the frigid snow beneath him. He growled a warning sound, peeling his lips back and licking his sharp canines with his long tongue.
The wolf barked at the cabin before turning his attention to Austin, intensity gathering in his eyes.
That single act of defiance made Austin want to tear out his throat. This Shifter had his sights on Lexi and wanted everyone to know it. Austin vibrated with alpha power, stalking forward, a steady growl thrumming in his chest like a motor. Obedient wolves were naturally submissive to alphas so long as the alpha wasn’t behaving erratically. Austin continued with his vocalized threat, and after advancing a few more steps, he realized this wasn’t an obedient wolf.
Probably a local rogue.
Austin quickly changed form and stood naked before the intruder.
“Shift,” he said as a harsh command, one dripping with alpha magic.
In a motion too fast to track, the animal morphed into a man with wavy black hair that fell past his shoulders—eyes like midnight and skin as pale as polished ivory.
“Your wolf was in my territory,” Austin bit out.
The stranger’s eyes scanned their surroundings, but his head didn’t move. “You’re not familiar to me.”
“I’m Austin Cole, Packmaster of the Weston pack in Texas. This land belongs to a Shifter named Hector, and I have permission to stay on this territory.”
A biting wind blew from the cabin, and the Shifter’s nostrils flared.
Jesus. Lexi must have gone into full-blown heat.
Austin glimpsed her head peeking out the door, and his voice snapped like a whip. “Back inside!”
She slammed the door.
The shifter scratched his jaw, not bothering to hide his growing erection. “Is she yours?”
“That’s my mate,” Austin growled. “My packmates are staying in cabins that way and that way,” he said, pointing straight ahead and then right. “I think you need to move on.”
The man sniffed and slowly drew in his bottom lip, scraping his teeth against it. The look in his eyes fluctuated, as a man conflicted.
“Are you local?” Austin asked.
“I own a diner up the road. I belong here more than you do. She’s pretty,” he said, voice faraway as he watched Lexi standing in the window.
In her fucking bustier. Goddammit.
“I’m only going to warn you once.” Austin kept his voice steady and controlled. “Get off our land. We’ve marked the perimeters, and your wolf should have stayed clear.”
Those black eyes settled on him, pulsing with intent. “Maybe my wolf wandered up here because he thought Northerners were hiding out. The alpha attacked, and I took him down. When I went inside to see if there were more, a bitch in heat threw herself at me. Couldn’t help it.”
“You son of a bitch!”
The man lunged and shifted all at once. Austin gritted his teeth when the wolf’s fangs pierced into the flesh around his neck. Austin pried his jaws open and threw him off.
Once in wolf form, Austin let the savagery of his animal take over. His moves were so raw that the other wolf recoiled. He locked his jaw around the wolf’s shoulder, the metallic taste of blood flooding his mouth and the heavy scent of victory filling his nose.
The rogue yelped and scuttled back, bright blood dripping onto virgin snow. He lifted his head and curled in his lips, eyes wide as a show of intimidation.